Rental Roulette C3 VTi 82 Collection
Rental Roulette C3 VTi 82 Collection
So, last week my rental roulette got delivered to my workplace on my day off, due to a snafu at the rental agency. When I opened the envelope containing the keys the following morning I was a bit disappointed to find a Citro?n key in there. I had been hoping for a nice VW Polo TSI. Upon further inspection I learned that it was a 60kW 1.2l version. Then I found out that it was only a three-pot. This only deepened my disappointment, and lowered my expectations for the car.
That afternoon I got in the car, expecting all kinds of disappointment. Opening the door I was kinda disappointed, giant seas of blackness awaited me in the interior, with the exception of the seats, which are upholstered in a funky grey open hexagonal fabric. There?s a glossy black panel running the width of the dashboard, and a nicely textured soft-touch ?slab? over it. The centre console is made from the same glossy plastic as the rest of the dashboard. It all looks quite nice, but it?s not the funky stuff you expect from a Citro?n. The steering wheel is a nice surprise, nicely sculpted with a flat bottom and upholstered in leather.
I grabbed my phone and hey, there?s Bluetooth. In pairing it was a bit well, temperamental. It took me five minutes to get it to work, after which I was greeted with an adequate sounding replica from my phone?s music through AD2P. There?s a couple EQ options in the menus, but none of them actually make it sound better, they all feel like caricatures of what one would expect of them. Call quality is again adequate, with the microphone located in the car?s A-pillar. The radio is a DIN-sized unit in the bottom of the centre stack, which doesn?t really fit with the rest of the interior. The display is conveniently located at the top of the centre stack, where you can choose between a couple readouts, a trip computer, a clock, phone info or music information.
Then I turned the key and started the
lawnmower engine. Yup, that?s a three pot alright. Put it in gear and drive off. Turns out I couldn?t be more wrong with my expectations. The car feels light and nimble (which at 950kg, it is), the engine is peppy and likes to rev. Even though it has only 82ps, it gets up to motorway speeds faster than you?d expect, in only 12.3s the 100kph barrier is broken, and it should go on to a 172 kph top speed. Because I am quite fond of both my money and my driver?s license, I haven?t verified that top speed, but it has very little problems hitting 150 on the speedo. Sound insulation is much better than I expected for such a small car, which is a good thing because the three-pot still sounds like a lawnmower, even at motorway speeds. Motorway acceleration is much, much better than I expected. I hardly need to shift down to keep up with the flow of traffic. Not that shifting down will do you much good. The engine?s relatively strong midrange comes at the expense of the top end, which is a trade-off I can live with in a car like this.
The car?s ergonomics are a bit weird at times. The stalks on the steering column are far too high for my taste. With my hands at a comfortable 8 and 4 o?clock position I constantly need to reach for them, which quickly becomes annoying when you need to change lanes often in rush hour traffic. The upside is that the cruise control?s controls are just in the right place for operation with the left hand, and the radio?s satellite on the opposite side of the wheel is equally within easy reach.
Driving it, it's quite oviously a front-wheel drive econobox with a high build. The suspension's setup is on the comfortable side, and the handling is obviously set up with lots of "safe" understeer. Nothin special, nothing unexpected, nothing bad, just middle of the road stuff. Because of the high build, and low weight, crosswinds can toss the car around a bit, especially when you're passing bigger stuff. Due to my commute lacking any serious kind of twisties, I haven't had a chance of really giving its handlign a test, but I'm not sure if that is a bad thing.
Getting out of the driver?s seat and checking the rear, there?s another disappointment. The space in the front really comes at the expense of rear leg room. The car?s boot is adequate, it should hold your shopping, but much more than a weekend?s luggage won?t fit.
And now, pictures.